Alabama attorney says Disabilities Act needs improving

Monday

Aug 1, 2005 at 7:14 AM

By Markeshia RicksNYT Regional Newspapers

TUSCALOOSA- Fifteen years ago, Lauren Carr didn't know that one day she'd be directly affected by an act of Congress.

Carr became a practicing attorney in 1990, the same year Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act to break down barriers in employment, public services, transportation, public accommodations and telecommunications for people with disabilities.

"The idea behind the ADA was to create a very comprehensive set of guidelines and rules that allow people with disabilities the ability to participate fully in all aspects of community and society," said Carr, who is now the senior staff attorney for the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.

Carr said the changes that the ADA brought include requiring public or commercial buildings to be accessible for people who are deaf or blind or using wheelchairs, walkers and personal assistant animals.

She also said the law brought changes in hiring practices and provisions in telecommunications for those with hearing or speech disabilities with access to phones and television.

"My personal favorite is the impact the ADA has had on communities," she said. "Because of the ADA, people with disabilities are seen. They can go to the store, the theater, the courthouse, the community center, the baseball field, the football stadium - anywhere they want."

Knowing that the people with disabilities have more access to public places began to mean even more to Carr when she gave birth in 1994 to a son, Wilson, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

"When people with disabilities are seen, others see what more is needed and should be done," she said. "The ADA has done a lot. But our communities need to be aware that more still needs to be done."

Toni Franklin, executive director of United Cerebral Palsy of West Alabama, said the passage of the law recognized people with disabilities as equal members of society.

But there's more to be done.

"I was recently in Montgomery visiting a friend who uses a wheelchair. I took her to a lunch at a restaurant that she'd never been to, but said she would like go to," she said. "Though the restaurant had met the requirements of the ADA law regarding accessibility, when we went to be seated we had to traffic through the bar area and she had to be taken to the back of the building to access the ramp."

Franklin said stories like her own experience are still quite prevalent even 15 years since the passage of the ADA.

"Accessibility is a serious issue and difficult to address because a lot of financial factors are involved. But one thing I would like to see when new restaurants and buildings are built is that architects consider or even bring in someone who uses a wheelchair, so they will understand the need for access as well as dignity when using a public place."

She said there are also issues such as the provision of adequate transportation for people with disabilities.

"The ADA law doesn't specifically address that, but public transportation can't discriminate," she said.

"Our public transportation system does the best that it can, but it can't meet all the needs that are out there and it is a critical issue for the entire state of Alabama."

Franklin said more than 20 percent of Alabamians over the age of 5 have a recognized or defined disability, and while programs such as Dial A Ride help fill in the gaps, the fight should continue.

One place it should continue, she said, is in the area of voting rights.

"One of the things that the ADA did for people with disabilities was that it recognized them as individuals with the right to vote just as anyone else," she said. "It required that voting places be accessible."

Because some polling places are in old buildings, the law requires poll workers to accommodate people with disabilities by bringing voting materials to the person's car.

"People can vote even if they can't get into the building," she said. "A lot of people with disabilities don't realize they can vote, and their vote does make a difference."

Suzanne Dowling, a Tuscaloosa resident and the mother of a child with autism, said she's certain that many of the educational programs that are available for children with mental and physical disabilities wouldn't be in place if it weren't for the ADA.

"I know that all of the educational opportunities that we've taken advantage of were in place when we started the education process with Sam," she said. "We know that his rights to an education are protected and we've been able to ask for things that we need for him and know that we're backed up by the law. We're fortunate that our school system, the Tuscaloosa County school system, has been very good about working with us."

But Dowling said she's concerned that new laws such as the No Child Left Behind legislation, that have new requirements for special education in public schools, might somehow weaken many of the positive gains that children with disabilities have received through the ADA law.

"Sometimes the pendulum swings the other way with how a law is interpreted," she said. "I'm definitely concerned that all the rights that he has now, he might not have later."

Carr said there are reasons to be concerned.

"It's great that Congress passed this legislation," she said. "It's sad that the Supreme Court continues to limit the protections intended by Congress."

Carr said since the ADA is still a young law, there are often questions regarding the meaning of the law.

She said that although some of the interpretations have been favorable and provide more access for people with disabilities, others have created limitations on the number of people protected by the law and limited the ability for people to recover damages and attorneys fees.

And then there are the basic everyday struggles that people with disabilities still face.

Carr said even today there are places her son can't go because of access issues, and there is continued need for community awareness.

"We still get stared at when we are in public. We still get comments from others about 'special' or 'segregated' programs that he should participate in," she said. "The ADA, hopefully, will allow my son the choices I've had in my life. I have been able to go to the mall, the movies or restaurants of my choice when I wanted to go. I graduated from high school, the University of Alabama, went to law school, got married and had children. I want the same for Wilson. If the ADA remains strong, maybe his life will be as great as mine has been."

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